Improvement in street-pavements



UNITED STATES WILLIAM E. SHAW, OF PORTLAND, MAINE.

IMPROVEMENT IN STREET-PAVEMENTS:

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 110,794, dated January 3, 1871.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM E. SHAW, of the city of Portland, in the county of Gumberland and State of Maine, have invented certain new and useful. Improvements in Street-Pavements; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to accompanying drawing forming part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a vertical section, and Fig. 2 is a top view.

Similar letters of reference inthe drawing denote corresponding parts.

This invention relates to that class-of Wooden pavements in which the blocks are fastened to the foundation by means of dovetail keys; and consists in making the key-pieces independent of the rest of the foundation, whereby the foundation can be manufactured at less expense, and the sections can be laid or removed with greater facility than heretofore.

In the drawing, B B are wooden blocks, of suitable dimensions, constituting, in connec tion with the concrete o c, the body of the pavement, and resting upon a wooden foundation, a e. This foundation is composed of flat planks a a, with beveled edges, and laid with their wider surface uppermost, the center of the planks coming directly under the center of the concrete, between the blocks. A dovetail space is thus left between two adjacent planks, into which closely fits the lower half of'the key-piece e, its upper half fitting in the same manner into the dovetail groove in the under side of the blocks B B. The blocks and concrete confine the planks in place, while the latter lock the key-pieces, and the key-pieces hold the blocks, the whole forming an exceedingly iirm and durable pavement.

In laying it, the foundation a e is first put down, after which the blocks are slipped endwise upon the keys, and the spaces between them are then filled with concrete, as represented, or the blocks and keys may be first connected,if preferred. v

In economy of manufacture this pavement has decided advantages over the Robbins pavement, so called, from the fact that it costs much less to bevel oft' the edges ofthe planks and channel out the sides of the blocks than it does to form bed-pieces with dovetail keys upon their upper sides. y

The' key-pieces being separate from the planks, also render it much easier to lay the pavement or to take it up than when they are formed on the planks.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new therein, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

A pavement, constructed with the blocks B B,the oblique-edged planks a a, and the laterally-channeled key-pieces e e, each constructed independently of the others, and all adapted to lock together lwhen in place, substantially as described.

WM. E. SHAW. Witnesses:

CHARLES F. LIBEY, THOMAS B. REED.

PATENT OFFICE. 

